What
are the Different Types of Vegetables,Their Distinctions

First,
what are vegetables and how many types of vegetables are there?

For
clarity, the termvegetables
or vegetable crops,
is here meant to refer to a classification of agricultural crops
under horticulture. These crops are plants having edible parts that
are either eaten cooked or raw, as in salad preparations.

As
to how many types, groupings, or classifications of vegetables are
there, there can be no definitive answer. Just like food recipes,
there can be too many.

The
classifications can vary depending on various consideration such as the taxonomic
classifications of the crops (e.g., by family or by genus), the part
of plant that is edible (e.g., root vs. stem) and its stage of
development (mature vs. young), their particular use in culinary
preparation (for example, cooked vs. uncooked), the degree of detail
that any distinction seeks to express, and who talks to who.

Clarification
as to Agronomic vs. Horticultural Crops

There
is no definite demarcation line between agronomic and horticultural
crops. Both classifications can even apply to the same plant species
due to differing criteria of classification.

For
example, taro or gabi (Colocasia esculenta) is an agronomic
crop being grown mainly as a starchy root, tuber and corm crop.
However, it is also a horticultural crop because it is largely
utilized as a vegetable.

Another
is corn or maize (Zea mays). It is generally classified as an
agronomic crop and listed under cereals because it is primarily grown
for the harvesting of mature grains. But it can become a
horticultural and vegetable crop when, as in the case of sweet corn,
it is grown for green corn.

Review
of Some Types of Vegetables

According
to Hill (1972), the vegetables can be grouped into three broad
classifications based on their botanical parts that are edible and
location with respect to the ground. These are the earth vegetables,
herbage vegetables, and fruit vegetables. Earth vegetables are
those in which the edible parts are below the ground including
modified roots and stems. Herbage vegetables are those with
aboveground parts including stems, leaves, buds and flowers. Fruit
vegetables are those in which the botanical fruits are usually
cooked and rarely eaten raw except in salads.

He
gave examples of crops under each of these
three types of vegetables. However, these types are only broad
generalizations. It is noted also that he did not include seed
vegetables.

HarperCollins
and Lucy Peel (2004) grouped different vegetables into the following
eight main types: (1) salad vegetables, (2) fruiting vegetables, (3)
squash vegetables, (4) shooting vegetables, (5) leafy vegetables, (6)
pod and seed vegetables, (7) bulb vegetables, and (8) root
vegetables. Within the household and circle of friends, these terms
are likely easy to comprehend. However, it is not clear on what basis
are these groupings made.

Rimando
(2004) simply defines vegetables as “crops usually grown for
culinary purposes.” He gave examples of vegetable crops under the
following classifications: (1) leafy vegetables, (2) cole crop or
crucifers, (3) root and bulb crops, (4) legumes or pulses, (5)
solanaceous vegetables, and (5) cucurbits. It is to be noted that
these are a mixture of types of vegetables based on plant parts that
are edible and on botanical family. Apparently these are mere
examples of vegetable groupings, an introduction to a more detailed
lecture.

Putting
More Details

To
put more details on Hill's types of vegetables, six vegetable types
are enumerated below.The classifications are based on the botanical
plant parts that are edible and used in culinary preparation. These
can also be grouped into two main divisions: vegetables with
consummable vegetative parts (root, stem, and leafy vegetables) and
those with edible reproductive parts (flower, fruit, and seed
vegetables).

Based
on their edible botanical parts, vegetables can be grouped into the
following:

2.
Stem Vegetables – plants which are sources of edible botanical
stems which are usually immature and succulent. They can be divided
further into those plants in which the edible plant structure
consists mainly of aerial stems, e.g., bamboo shoot and those with
underground modified stems such as corms, tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, and stolons.

3.
Leafy Vegetables – plants which are sources of edible leaves in
various stages of development. The leaves may be separate and fully
expanded or, as in cabbage, form a head. It includes, in some
species, succulent stems, e.g., sweet potato (camote tops).

4.
Flower Vegetables – plants which are sources of edible flowers or
inflorescences including, in some species, accessory parts like the
stalk (pedicel or peduncle). In cauliflower, it consists of the stalk
and an immature inflorescence. But in squash, it is the mature
flower.

Left to its own defenses, a farm field growing a variety of plants tends to attract fewer insect pests than a field growing just one type of crop. While scientists and farmers have noted that differen…